Preferably an application that you can sync and save. Not sure what alternatives are safe in terms of privacy and security.
I’m a huge fan of Joplin. It runs on everything and syncs to either your or their cloud. Been using it for a few years now.
2nd for Joplin. Love it to bits. It has its quirks, but they’re ones I can live with. The sync support is pretty awesome.
Been playing with Logseq recently as well. Logseq is more for knowledge management/brain dump kind of notetaking, but it’s really cool that it’s so flexible. It helps that I really like using lists in the first place
Does Joplin have a search function within notes? And it is fully FOSS, yes?
Joplin itself is AGPL. Unfortunately, Joplin Server is under “JOPLIN SERVER PERSONAL USE LICENSE”.
While I really like Joplin, I’m thinking of making the switch to something fully open source.
QuillPad on Android and I don’t have a favorite on desktop yet
Markor on Android, MarkText on desktop. I sort notes in category folders and use Syncthing to keep devices… well, synced.
On a desktop/laptop (or really anywhere I can run CLI apps and use a proper keyboard) it’s mostly plain text files in Vim or Emacs. On my phone I recently switched from Standard Notes to Notesnook. Standard Notes is pretty powerful, uses end-to-end encryption by default, and can be self-hosted. The premium subscription is pretty expensive though. (Yes, it also requires a license when self-hosting. It’s cheaper, but still kinda expensive). Last year, there was also some controversy about the licensing. They recently got acquired by Proton.
Notesnook is fully FOSS, but they still haven’t released a self-hostable sync server. They are working on it though. It’s currently my go-to option.
- Mastodon: @notesnook@fosstodon.org
I just discovered a new app called Beaver Notes that I’m very excited to try out.
- Mastodon: @Beavernotes@mastodon.social
- GitHub: https://github.com/Beaver-Notes/
Joplin is another great option, it’s available on all platforms and even has a CLI, it also supports E2EE, but it has to be enabled manually. Can be self-hosted: https://github.com/etechonomy/joplin-server. I think I will switch to self-hosted, end-to-end encrypted Joplin in the long term, so I can have all my notes unified in one app. The CLI app is really useful for me, as I already use the Terminal to take notes when using a desktop/laptop.
I just use whatever text editor I have and make MD files synced with Syncthing. On mobile I use Marker.
I’ve tried several different methods, and as much as I try to be organised, I feel pretty good with my folder of files.
Your post 🤝 mine. It’s a mess but it’s my mess!
Simple, platform agnostic, just works.
Just to add to the noise… I’m shocked that Obsidian is not the number one app that people are talking about. Didn’t even know there were so many other great options, to be honest.
Edit: it’s because it’s not open source. The plugins all have to be open source, and it is free as in beer. I’m keeping this comment up.
It is closed source, after all.
Respect for keeping the comment online so others learn from your mistake.
Fossify notes
Notesnook. There’s quite a lot of private, secure, foss note taking apps, take your pick. Just check what features they have, eg some of them have no encryption at rest
I’m excited to see they’re going fully open source. Looks like the last steps to making the sync server self-hostable are in the works. Do you use their paid service? If so: any complaints or caveats?
I do use their paid service, though I’m considering cancelling to switch to using a markdown editor with syncthing for notes. I wouldn’t have any complaints about the paid service specifically. I’d say it’s a fair enough deal if you can get it on a sale. My reasons for wanting to switch are because I don’t like using cloud services when unnecessary, and to a lesser extent I’d prefer a native app over an electron app
I’d recommend Anytype if they’d ever add a pure black theme — the low contrast gray text on gray background hurts my eyes and I won’t be able to use it until they make some color changes.
@clark I used Notally at first, but I wanted cross-device syncing at some point. So I discovered this app by a developer called Bill The Farmer, which this is insanely small (just a few KB). I keep my notes in pCloud. I’m not sure how private it is, but I am thinking of storing them inside a veracrypt container, synced with pCloud instead, and I am also keeping an eye on other options that have the ability of storing notes as Markdown files.
I’m keeping an eye for now on Quillpad ver. 1.5 but I’m open to other options as well. 😁
I’m gonna try out Quillpad. Seems relatively okay, gonna read some reviews later. Pretty cool you can save your notes in a zip document if you don’t have NextCloud.
I tried most of what people have mentioned, but eventually found that MD files just worked best for me. So Nextcloud Notes became my default.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.niedermann.owncloud.notes
That’s my go to for my quick scratch pad notes, generally something I only need for a one time deal.
I use the Bit Warden secure note feature for more permanent things.
If it is a more ongoing documentation deal that needs organization I like Bookstack.
All depends on the purpose one uses it for.
ed
yes, I am completely serious (much faster to use on mobile too compared to a visual editor)
NeutriNote CE. It can save and sync to local folders, probably with some external app you can configure it to sync to cloud. It has auto mirror/backup features.
What I like is the way you can navigate through notes and its powerful search function. It also has some extra features which I don’t use. It also has a very detailed manual if you need any help.
Zim
org-roam
